Friday, October 16, 2009

To make mayonnaise, you have to act like Devo

Metal brushed against metal in rhythmic fury for Culinary Foundations I today as a double class of eager students made mayonnaise by hand.

Devo's lyrics, "'I say whip it. Whip it good," came to mind as the key instruction from Chef Tony Marano: Whip it fast, faster, faster still; then whip it some more.

Two egg yokes, 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to taste and oil, lots of oil -- up to 1 cup of oil -- combine to make mayonnaise. This is not your momma's mayo, which probably came from a jar with a "Hellmann's" or "Best Foods" label on it. This is real mayonnaise, with no added sweetening ingredients.

What makes it real are the ingredients and fast, furious, unrelenting whipping of the ingredients with a wire whisk in a stainless steel bowl as the oil is drizzled in and emulsified with the egg yokes.

Chef Tony tasted everyone's work and concluded: "I think we all had success with mayonnaise, coast to coast. Some broke (egg and oil separating) but came back together. That's an even better lesson."